Doorbell Demo User Guide

Table of Contents

Introduction

Outdoor video surveillance systems are used to detect and identify people in a variety of different environments. Identifying people in a video frame can be extremely accurate in a controlled setting. But, many of the locations that video surveillance systems get installed in are noisy environments. Additionally, capturing and recording camera data can be a very power-intensive process, which drains battery life for battery-powered systems.

Using radar to detect movement and alert the video surveillance system increases battery life by keeping the camera off in times when it is unnecessary. Radar outperforms similar presence detection technologies such as PIR, ultrasonic, or just the camera operating alone, by reducing the number of false positive detections. This leads to longer battery life for camera systems.

More than just saving battery power, the radar also adds functionality to the system. Its precise distance measurements keep the camera from unnecessarily recording neighbors as they pass on the sidewalk. Its long range detects people at 15+ meters. It can detect people and objects in conditions that are challenging for cameras such as darkness, glare, smoke, fog, and rain.

Hardware and Software Setup

Materials

Item	Details
IWRL6432BOOST EVM	None
Host PC	Needed to configure radar device and run visualizer program
USB Cable	Used to connect IWRL6432BOOST EVM to computer

Software

File	Location
Binary File	<MMWAVE_L_SDK>\examples\mmw_demo\presence_motion_detect\prebuilt_binaries\presence_motion_detect_demo.release.appimage
Configuration File	<RADAR_TOOLBOX>\tools\visualizers\Low_Power_Visualizer\chirpConfigs6432\major_motion_outdoor_lowbw_15m.cfg
MATLAB Runtime (9.11)	https://www.mathworks.com/products/compiler/matlab-runtime.html

Quickstart

1. Place the IWRL6432BOOST EVM in flashing mode as shown in the operational modes page

2. Flash the IWRL6432BOOST EVM with the out-of-box image found at <MMWAVE_L_SDK_INSTALL_DIR>\examples\mmw_demo\presence_motion_detect\prebuilt_binaries\presence_motion_detect_demo.release.appimage using the latest version of Uniflash. Follow the instructions in Using Uniflash with mmWave

3. Place the IWRL6432BOOST EVM in functional mode as shown in the operational modes page

4. Navigate to <RADAR_TOOLBOX>\tools\visualizers\Low_Power_Visualizer.

5. Follow the instructions in readme_6432.txt

6. Run the lowpower_demo_visualizer_6432.exe

7. Reset the IWRL6432BOOST EVM by pressing the RESET_SW button

   

8. Select the XDS110 Class Application/User UART port for both the control port and data port as shown by callout #1 in the below graphic.

9. Select the Load configuration button as shown by callout #2 in the below graphic.

10. Select Done, as shown by callout #3 in the below graphic, and let the visualizer run.

    

11. Point the IWRL6432BOOST EVM so the antennas face forward, towards the person as they approach the door. Mount the IWRL6432BOOST EVM at 0.75-1.5 m in the air, about the height of a doorbell, and let it run. Walk towards and away from the radar, and see that points appear as your presence is detected in the region of interest.

Modifying the Configuration File

The configuration file (.cfg) includes a set of commands which are used to specify the scene boundaries (i.e. area of interest) in relation to the sensor position and may need to be modified accordingly. These commands and their respective parameters are listed below.

• mpdBoundaryBox [BoxIndex] [Xmin] [Xmax] [Ymin] [yMax] [Zmin] [Zmax]
• sensorPosition [Z] [AzimuthTilt] [ElevationTilt]
  • Z - height of sensor.
  • AzimuthTilt - horizontal rotation of the sensor with respect to the back wall, as represented by FarY.
  • ElevationTilt - vertical rotation of the sensor with respect the the ground.
• minorStateCfg [pointThre1] [pointThre2] [snrThre2] [pointHistThre1] [pointHistThre2] [snrHistThre2] [histBufferSize] [minor2emptyThre]
  • pointThre1 - Number of detected points (in a single frame) needed in a zone to enter the motion/presence state. If the number of points exceed this threshold, no need to check the SNR.
  • pointThre2 - Number of detected points needed in a zone to enter the motion/presence state. If the number of points exceeds this threshold, the snrThre2 criteria is checked.
  • snrThre2 - Minimum total SNR (linear) of detected points (in a single frame) in a zone to enter the motion/presence state if the pointThre2 criteria is also satisfied.
  • pointHistThre1 - Number of detected points (in a frame history buffer) needed in a zone to enter the motion/presence state. If the number of points exceed this threshold, no need to check the SNR.
  • pointHistThre2 - Number of detected points (in a frame history buffer) needed in a zone to enter the motion/presence state. If the number of points exceeds this threshold, the snrHistThre2 criteria is checked.
  • snrHistThre2 - Minimum total SNR (linear) of detected points (in a frame history buffer) in a zone to enter the motion/presence state if the pointHistThre2 criteria is also satisfied.
  • histBufferSize - Size of the frame history buffer size (in frames) used in pointHistThre1, pointHistThre2, and snrHistThre2 parameters.
  • minor2emptyThre - A motion status is preserved if it recorded at least one motion detection in the last minor2emptyThre frames.

Results

The following demo used the major_motion_outdoor_lowbw_15m.cfg.

Configuration Statistics

Parameter	Value
Range Resolution	0.3084 m
Maximum Range	17.76 m
Velocity Resolution	0.255 m/s
Maximum Velocity	4.08 m/s
Average Power Consumption	20-25 mW*

*to estimate power based on configuration settings see the Sensing Estimator tool

Video Results